


Wrapped Around Her, Keeping Her Safe

by tumblruserpailylove



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Angst, Captivity, F/F, Kidnapping, Prompt Fic, Sad, Tumblr Prompt, paige is so perfect, that shirt, wearing your girlfriend's clothes, you know which one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-04 20:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15849186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tumblruserpailylove/pseuds/tumblruserpailylove
Summary: prompt fill: How did Paige decide to leave Emily the shirt before she left for California?The second chapter is another prompt fill about how Paige reacted to the returned shirt





	1. Keeping her safe

**Author's Note:**

> (Just moving my old works from ffnet and tumblr to here)  
> (I have not re-read or edited any of my old works so sorry if they're horrible)

Paige let out a heavy sigh as she looked over her luggage. She had been told by her parents to just pack the necessities for now and they would send the rest once she got settled in California. She had struggled with deciding what exactly the necessities were. She really wished she could put Emily in her bag and take her to California because, really, that is all she felt she needed. But that would never fly so now she was stuck sorting through everything she owned.

After some research and packing and unpacking her bags about three times, she had finally narrowed it down. She decided to leave the long sleeves and heavy coats in Rosewood. It was March in California which meant the weather was already way warmer than she was used to. So, shorts and cut off sleeves it was. Now she just had to decide which ones to take since she had very limited room.

Another hour had passed and her bag was stuffed full. She tossed her bag toward the door, watching it land next to her other suitcase that was already full of her swim gear and toiletries. When she turned back around, she let out another heavy sigh. Now she was stuck with the task of putting everything back. She put her hands on her hips, looked at all of her clothes tossed onto her bed, and rolled her eyes. She had never thought she was much of a girly girl until she saw the amount of clothes she owned. She was a little more feminine than she thought. She smiled at herself and started to gather everything to put back into her closet.

Another twenty minutes had passed and she was almost done. She had a pile of shirts left and that was it. Grabbing a few more hangers from her closet, she turned back to her bed and she felt her heart twist. Sitting on top was one of her favorite shirts. Actually, it was one of Emily’s favorite shirts so it made it one of her favorites by default. She frowned as she moved over to the shirt and slid her hand over it. There wasn’t anything particularly special about it. But for some reason, Emily loved it.

She lifted the shirt and held it at arm’s length, inspecting it. Her head shook a bit and she smiled as the memory of waking up to find Emily wearing the shirt, and only the shirt, flooded back to her. There was nothing particularly special about the night before but the memory of waking up to find Emily in her shirt stood out. It wasn’t the first, or last, time that Emily had worn her clothes but that day was different. That day, Emily had gone through her closet to find the shirt instead of just picking it up off of the floor where it had been discarded the night before. She had searched for it, picked it on purpose, and worn it with pride.

Paige laughed at the memory and folded the shirt in half. She turned around to look at her bag, wondering if it would fit. She leaned down in front of it and unzipped it, ready to stuff the shirt inside before another thought occurred to her. She stood up, draped the shirt over her arm, opened her bedroom door, and headed out.

Ten minutes later, Paige was walking into Emily’s room. She glanced back at Mrs. Fields and nodded slightly “Thank you so much for this. I promise I won’t be too long. I just….have something for her.” She motioned to her where the shirt was wrapped loosely in some tissue paper.

“Take your time, honey” Mrs. Fields said with a smile and motioned behind her. “I am going to finish with dinner. Are you sure you can’t stay?”

Paige shook her head a little, giving a slight frown “My flight leaves soon. Raincheck?”

Though neither of them were sure if and when Paige would ever return, Pam nodded and gave her a sweet smile “I’ll hold you to that.” The two of them exchanged a bit of a sad half smile before Pam turned to move back downstairs and into the kitchen.

Paige watched her go before stepping into Emily’s room completely. Immediately her eyes looked around and took everything in. She could remember the first time she had ever stepped into that room. She remembered the many times she had imagined what the room looked like. She had lost many hours of her youth daydreaming about what Emily’s room must look like. She remembered how she had felt a little sick to her stomach the moment Emily had invited her up to her room. She remembered being nervous the first time she had stepped inside this room.

Her head turned and she looked at the window seat. “Window seat” Paige whispered as the memory echoed in her head “I’ve always wanted a room with one of those.” She smiled to herself and slowly walked over to it. She slowly slid her hand over the pillows that lined the little alcove. She gave a little shiver as the memories overwhelmed her. The many nights she and Emily had spent sitting together in that window seat rushed to mind and it was almost too much to bear. Who knew if they would ever share a moment there again.

After swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Paige took a deep breath and turned away from the window. She moved over to Emily’s desk and quickly found a pen and some paper. It was funny that she felt so comfortable in that room. It was almost as if that room was more of a home to her than her own.

Leaning over the desk, she scribbled a quick note to Emily. She wanted to write a novel but there wasn’t time for that. Instead it a couple sentences were written and she was done. Lifting the paper once she was finished, she read it over and gave a nod. Without hesitation she moved back to the window and this time set the folded shirt right in the middle of everything. She left the loose wrapping of the tissue paper around it and set the note on top. She licked at her lips, took a deep breath, turned away without looking at anything else, and stormed out of the room. If she lingered, she may never leave.

“Thank you again” Paige called out to Mrs. Fields on her way out the door. She couldn’t stay, it was just too hard. She rushed out of the front door without looking back. The last thing she wanted to do was hesitate. If she looked back, if she took a moment to let it soak in, she knew she wouldn’t leave. She had to leave. She so dipped her head, rushed out to her bike, hopped on, and rode without looking back. She didn’t want the memory of the house where she found her heart fading into the background.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Emily hadn’t stopped crying since the airport. She wasn’t sure how she had made it home alive. Her eyes hadn’t been dry since the moment it had sunk in that Paige was actually leaving. Somehow, though, she had made it. The night had been filled with so much emotion and hurt and all she wanted to do now was lay on her bed and weep until she faded off into what was sure to be a restless sleep.

She got home way after dinner. She had to unlock the door when she got home. She tiptoed into the house, locked the door behind her, and moved into the kitchen. She saw a note from her mother telling her she loved her and dinner was in the fridge if she was hungry. She wasn’t though. Eating was the last thing she wanted to do. So she just grabbed a water bottle and headed up to her bed. Being wrapped in a thick blanket and crying all night sounded so perfect at the moment.

Emily was quiet as she moved through the house to her room. The last thing she wanted was to wake her mom and have her ask a million questions about the airport. She wanted to disappear into her room and pretend it hadn’t happened. So when she got to her room without a stir from the end of the hallway, she let out a sigh of relief and quietly closed her door behind her.

She dropped her bag by her door. She kicked off her shoes and watched them fall somewhere near her desk. She let out a heavy sigh and pulled off her shirt. She started on her jeans as she moved to her closet. Some comfortable pjs and a sad movie was what she had in mind. She was standing in front of her closet, deciding on which tshirt to pull on, when something caught her eye.

She turned slowly to the window seat where a lump sat in the darkness. Her brow creased in curiosity and slowly she moved over to the mystery item in the middle of her cushions. She picked up the package that crinkled in her hands and grabbed the note that slid off as soon as she touched it. She gently moved toward her lamp, flipped it on, and immediately eyed what she held. Not immediately recognizing it, she looked toward the note for answers. Lifting it toward the lamp, she immediately recognized the writing and her heart started to thunder in her chest.

_ “Em- _

_ I remembered how much you loved it. I also remembered how you looked in it. It belongs with you, just like me. Please don’t cry. I’ll see you soon. _

_ Love, Paige.” _

Emily immediately broke into tears. Her eyes skimmed the words over and over as tears streaked down her cheeks. It was perfect. Paige was perfect. God, she was going to miss her so much.

She smiled and gave a soft kiss to the note before moving to tuck it into her nightstand drawer. She unwrapped the loose tissue paper and as soon as her eyes fell to the shirt, she let out a soft laugh. She didn’t know why, but she had loved this shirt so much. She had worn it every chance Paige would give her. And she would wear it now. She would wear it until it fell off her body, if she had any say about it.

She pulled it over head quickly and a smile grew over her lips. She pulled the collar up over her nose and took a deep breath in. Her nose and lungs filled with the scent of Paige. As she let out the breath in a happy sigh, tears began to trickle over her cheeks again. This time, for the first time all night, the tears were happy. Somehow Paige was still there with her. Paige was wrapped around her, keeping her safe, if only for the night. Paige would be with her, even from California. And that, more than anything, gave her the strength to go on.

 


	2. Return to sender

“Paige got some mail. It looks like it’s from Emily. What should we do about it?”   
  
Paige could hear the voices down the hall talking about her. She could always hear them talking about her. It seemed every day there was a new discussion about her. Day in and day out she sat in her cell of a bedroom and listened to them talk about her.   
  
“Maybe we should show it to her” The second voice suggested and Paige could tell they were looking in her direction, almost as if they were trying to see through the thick cold walls that were holding her in.   
  
“Why would we do that? It is only going to get her all riled up.”   
  
“Don’t we like it when she gets riled up?”   
  
The voice was a little more vindictive now and Paige stood from where she had been sitting on her uncomfortable bed. She walked over to the opening of her room and did everything she could to look out of it and down the hallway. She could barely see shadows moving at the end of the dimly lit corridor. She let out a huff and kicked the wall. If they wanted to see her riled up she would get riled up.   
  
“Hold on, let me call in first.”   
  
Paige clenched her jaw and started to pace between her door and the tiny window in the room. Everything was so dark and dull. It was dusty, too. She used every second of every day plotting a way to get out of there and back to Emily. She knew she shouldn’t have gotten on that plane. She knew she shouldn’t have left. It hadn’t felt right.   
  
“Take the package to her. See what kind of reaction we can get out of her and maybe she will talk today.”   
  
Paige gritted her teeth and shuffled over to her bed. She sat down with a thunk and looked up at the door in anticipation. Every time they came into her room she studied their routine and their movements, looking for a weakness she could crack.   
  
Just like the days previous there was a jungle as the keys slid into the lock, a click as the lock gave way, and a heavy clunk as the door to Paige’s cell came open. Paige looked up from where she sat on the cool steel bed and pretended to be scared at the arrival of her captor.   
  
“Check it out” The voice from under the black hood hissed as the figure held up the package. Paige didn’t know if it was male or female because of the voice modifier they all wore. The black hoods were heavy and loose making it hard to tell what the stature of each figure was. The only clue she had was the way each walked and from what she could tell, there was at least one male and two females. They took turns coming into her cell, though, and she hadn’t figured out the pattern to that yet.   
  
“Are you paying attention?” The voice snarled at her and snapped her gaze back to the blank space where a face should be. They waved the package at her again then tossed it on her lap “Looks like it’s from your lady friend. Why don’t you open it and see what she’s up to?” That’s when a snicker was heard and the package taken from her lap “Oh that’s right your hands are a little occupied by the cuffs. Here, let me.”   
  
The package was not so politely ripped open and the contents were spilled all over the dirty cement floor. Paige’s eyes immediately dropped with the items. She saw a few things that were definitely hers but what stood out most was the shirt. It was the shirt she had left for Emily to wear while they were apart. It was a part of her to have whenever she felt lonely. Now here it was staring her in the face. Paige closed her eyes and looked away. She couldn’t bear to see the shirt. It meant Emily had given up on her, on them.   
  
“Don’t like what you see? It looks like Emily is done with you. I guess that’s what happens when you disappear, ignore her, and tell you that you need space.” The black hooded figure moved over to Paige and grabbed her face, pulling fiercely so they were now face to face. “Listen to me you little shit we are getting really fed up waiting for you to give us what we want. So either you start talking or we’re going back to Rosewood to start taking what we want.”   
  
Paige’s jaw clenched and her eyes opened. She wished her mouth wasn’t taped over because she really wanted to spit in the face of whoever was threatening her right now. She didn’t sit back and give into threats, she never had and she never would. Even if she was completely helpless at the moment she would fight until she had nothing left in her. She shook her head out of the firm hand of her captor and quickly moved forward with her forehead, landing a sharp blow on what felt like a cheekbone.   
  
A loud grunt was heard as the figure stumbled back and fell to their ass. They slid back a bit then lifted a hand to their face, rubbing the spot softly as they stared up at Paige. A soft chuckle was heard as the figure got to their feet “You know I was starting to feel a little bad for you. We were instructed to take you and use you to get Emily to crack. We were told not to hurt you. But now?” A nod was given and another soft laugh heard “I am going to have fun kicking your ass.”   
  
Paige growled from behind her duct tape and got to her feet. She lunged at the figure but without arms she couldn’t do much but attempt to throw an elbow into the kidnapper’s side. It didn’t work and she just stumbled forward and into the other wall. She turned around quickly and was going to charge again but stopped when the figure now had hold of the items from the package.   
  
“It looks like these are heading to the chipper before being returned to sender.” The figure headed to the door and opened it again before stopping and turning back to look at Paige with a little shake of their head “I was going to offer you the easy way but you just chose the hard way.” They stepped out of the room and slid the door closed with a slam. The lock was clicked and the figure motioned through the bars to the shirt “I’ll let you keep that so every time you look at it you can remember what you’ve done to her. She’s never going to make it to graduation now and that is all your fault.” One last laugh was given as the figure moved down the long corridor and disappeared.   
  
Paige hurried over to the shirt on the ground. She got to her knees and turned her back to where her hands were held, using her fingertips to scoop it up. She then moved to the bed and dropped it before sitting beside the wrinkled mess of fabric. There was a shoe print from her where she had stepped on it when she charged the figure and she could see the distinct attempt to stitch the hole at the collar. She frowned behind her tape and leaned over to slowly lay down. She laid her head on the material and drew in a deep breath. The scent of Emily filled her senses and she was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. Her eyes closed and a few tears trickled out of her eyes as the emotion washed over her. Emily was giving up on her. It was in that moment that Paige made a silent promise to Emily that she would get out of that cell, that she would get back to Rosewood, and she would never leave her side again.


End file.
